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Vent: Ran wire through a return duct and got roasted by the homeowner
I ran a zone 2 wire through an HVAC return plenum on a rush job last Tuesday and the homeowner found it during a filter swap. Told me it was a fire code violation and made me redo the whole run. Anyone else ever get caught cutting corners like that?
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cooper.phoenix15d ago
Respectfully, that homeowner was right to call you out on that. Running wire through a return plenum is a clear fire code violation because the insulation can catch or the wire can arc inside the airflow. Gotta own that one and call it a learning moment instead of a corner cut.
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felixlee15d ago
Hard disagree honestly. Romex in a plenum is done all the time in older houses and nobody checks for that unless you have an inspector breathing down your neck. Plus if the wire is secured right and not laying loose in the airflow, the fire risk is basically zero. People get way too hung up on code stuff that rarely causes actual problems in the real world.
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gavinlopez15d ago
Whoa, hold up. I once helped a buddy rewire his old garage and found a literal bird's nest built inside the return duct right next to some exposed romex from the 70s. The bird was fine, but the wire insulation was all chewed up and flaking off everywhere. So yeah, maybe code is there for a reason, or at least to keep the local finches from getting zapped. I'm not saying you're wrong about real-world risk, but sometimes the weird stuff you find makes you glad somebody wrote down a rule.
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